The youth and the civil society will have to change and define Pakistan for itself, by preventing it from being a country that is malleable into the hands of the next leader. — Photo by AFP

‘Pakistan is complicated…complex’ he’s smiling as he thinks of more adjectives ‘convoluted…all the Cs!’ he says laughing as Meeha interrupts. ‘If you keep the politics out, then life is okay here,’ she says using her hands animatedly.
 
But is politics something that can be kept at bay, or in fact, should be kept out?

 

Meeha responds ‘yeah you really can’t, I suppose it’s in everything, it’s everywhere I mean even in sports’. This time Tipu interrupts her, concluding ‘there are more leg downs than leg ups in Pakistan.’

 

The leg downs can be understood any way, but the children of Pakistan’s missing persons are sure of what they felt about Independence Day. Sitting in a line holding pictures of their missing fathers, uncles, brothers and relatives with their artwork pasted on the wall behind them, one of them shows a big red cross drawn over a fluttering flag of Pakistan with the caption ‘happiness is not for us’. Another one shows a flag and birds flying through a cage that states ‘free loved ones, free Pakistan’. Perhaps one of the more simple ones that left an impact was a page painted entirely black and in the middle of the page was a tiny rectangle with bars that read ‘no to enforced disappearance.’

 

Aisha, a 14-year-old girl, whose father has been missing since at least eight years, summons a smile to say ‘it helps a lot to express ourselves through art — but were not going to celebrate August 14 — we have nothing to celebrate.’ 

 

Other than the ritual of hoisting flags, admiring (or not) buildings covered in colourful lights, the sporadic sound of fireworks and seeing the town coloured green, the youth wonders what it is in fact that they are celebrating: freedom gained, or freedom lost?

 

In recent times the generation Y has seen the introduction and subsequent escalation in suicide bombings, the notorious and silent kidnappings of people strip them and thousands of families of their basic rights, the domino effect of extremism that resulted in millions being made homeless, and more recently a revealing Gallup survey that shows more than half of our population considers the US a bigger threat than the Taliban.

 

On the local front, they saw the active movement of the suppressed for an independent Balochistan (and even an independent NWFP), a president who trivialised the act of ‘rape’, laws that protected neither minorities nor lessened the vulnerability of Pakistani women to exploitation; the increase in unemployment and poverty as well as prices, load shedding and the never ending deception of the government and its mostly defunct and swindling politicians. 

 

But the youth is still standing and standing stronger and more united than ever. Even though revolution has always been a universally popular theme among the youth, it’s some what accentuated in Pakistan and especially among its youth. The difference is there are enough tangible reasons for seeking a revolution in a country where the government doesn’t give to hoots about its nation and its people. But the youth, for whom Pakistan runs through their veins, they have impressively hit the ground running. There has been immense social work done by young people as well networking for causes both political and social. They have sharp minds, they are ingenious and realistic — or maybe too realistic. There is little room left for idealism as the youth is actively working towards cleaning up the mess of their ancestors.

 

Pakistan can trace back today’s consequences to when things were royally messed up by the military dictator Ziaul Haq in pursuit of self-preservation. His wave of political Islam and depolitisation of the country’s youth lead to a fanatic, terrorised  and religiously ritualistic environment: public lashings took place, draconian ordinances such as the Hudood laws were promulgated, ridiculous rules were enforced such as banning the announcement of the weather forecast since ‘only God knows’. Offering prayers was made mandatory in government offices, women on television were forced to cover their heads. Religion was so strictly enforced that the lyrics of an all-time classic song ‘dama dam must Qalandar, Ali da pehla number’ were changed to ‘Ali dum dum dai andar’. Zia made sure he left no stone unturned to please his nau sitaaray (nine stars) or the nine religious parties, allegedly funded by the intelligence agencies and responsible for the agitation against Bhutto. It’s Zia’s seed of destruction that was sowed back then which the youth is reaping today.   

 

Generation Y has effectively grown up under the wings of extremism, terrorism and insecurity. The subconscious effect of our situation has culminated in various ways – as in extreme times extreme measures are required. Knowing that the law makers take little notice, the most popular form of being heard is by coming out on the streets. 

 

The civil society and the youth have proved that their amalgamated strength can lead to desired changes. The government that is marinated in feudalism and corruption has not been moved by the people’s pleas so far — they are not ashamed to hear time and again that they are pathetically inefficient and are thoroughly corrupt as a governing body. It is the civil society that has and will, with the help of the fervent youth, make help make Pakistan become what it should have become long ago. 

 

Up till now every leader has defined and set the environment of unpredictability in Pakistan. The youth and the civil society will have to change and define Pakistan for itself, by preventing it from being a country that is malleable into the hands of the next leader. The youth will have to persevere through every intention, action and speech in every capacity of their own to see a Pakistan that our leaders must conform to and most importantly, serve. Leaders must fit the Pakistani people’s definition. It is when we stand tightly united, persistent for a just and progressive homeland with leaders conforming to our definition, that there will be occasion and a real reason to celebrate. 

The writer can be contacted at nosheenabbas@gmail.com